Reply With QuoteNice! you'd probably get run over by a beer truck if you posted something like this on other FH sites - so there is that about this place too.
Thanks for taking the time to do this - wish there was more of this here actually.
[Thanks DH] The Journey
What does DobberHockey mean to me? I joined the DobberHockey forums one-thousand-thirty-nine days ago (September 17, 2008) and have reaped nothing but benefits from being part of the best fantasy hockey forum on the World Wide Web.
Let me first start by introducing myself as Brendan Ross, known as Dean Youngblood on the forums (or the 'OHL guy').
I grew up as the second child of three in a family where hockey was important but never really forced upon any of us as something we must do. My father played recreationally but only encouraged my brother and I to try our hardest at whatever we tried. Since I was a young boy I was told that I was just like my uncle. He played internationally for Canada and I feel as though I owe some credit to him in some small way for indirectly encouraging me to adopt Canada's national past-time as one of my true loves.
As a "stocky" toddler who eventually grew into his frame, I quickly found my passion for the love of hockey as my brother and older friends invited me into their daily street hockey games in the small hamlet of Florence (Population of approximately 137 persons). My parents would bring me home after a long tough on-ice hockey practice only to see me scarper over to the next street to join the boys in a friendly yet extremely competitive game of street hockey. As one of the youngest, I was usually picked last and always found myself on a team called the "Fatty's" ready to take on my older brother's team called the "Skinny's". The teams were comprised of all ages ranging from 12 to 25 and included OHL draftees, guys who had skated in NHL training camps, rep players, house league players and those who didn't play ice hockey at all. Players would come from larger (yet still small) towns almost an hour away to compete in our nightly road hockey games. Goalies would don pads made from old couch cushions. We had players playing on foot and some sporting these new things called 'rollerblades' (which we eventually all switched to). There were fights, goals, and we even held a "Kerby Cup" championship each spring (named after the street we played on). The atmosphere was electric for a pre-pubescent hockey fan as I cherished the opportunity to play my favourite sport with the friends I truly cherished. It was on these streets where I quickly determined that hockey was the best sport on earth and my true passion.
As an ice hockey player, I never had the speed or shot to move very far up the hockey ranks but as some of my former coaches have (more recently) told me, "Rossy, you had one of the better hockey IQs I have ever coached". On my minor hockey teams, I was always one of the leaders and usually relied upon in key situations but it was always a bit disappointing knowing that I didn't have the physical attributes to take my game to the next level. While I was approached by some Ontario Tier-2 Junior A teams during my University days I smartly declined to pursue my teaching career. Eventually, I found myself travelling home on weekends to play alongside my closest friends on my local Juvenile team. It didn't take me long to realize that this was one of the better decisions I had made in life. That year, our stacked Juvenile team soon found ourselves in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association championships at the perfect age of 19 as we travelled across Ontario with our buddies in one huge party. What a year! Needless to say, many of us won our first OMHA Championship in our final year of minor hockey eligibility. The feeling was extremely fulfilling!
Following my one and only provincial championship, I quickly turned to "beer league" hockey at Wilfrid Laurier University and continued the tradition of beers and hockey (Is there anything better?) winning a few intramural championships along the way. It was in Waterloo, Ontario that I discovered DobberHockey as I was preparing for our inaugural keeper league that a few buddies and myself started with twenty beer-loving friends. I cannot quite remember what day it was or the exact details but I am sure that I was recovering from a night of a "social" university interaction. In a last minute effort to prepare for our draft I hopped onto Google and typed "NHL Top Prospects". Voila! DobberHockey was officially introduced. I glanced at the Top 100 Prospects list as well as the Player Rankings list and soon found myself falling in love with hockey even more. Don't get me wrong, I had played in many of H2H one-year Yahoo pools but this was the first keeper league I had committed to and I quickly found in love with hockey...and especially with DobberHockey!
In the early days of DobberHockey I remember posting a lot of new threads asking about player-A and player-B (like most of you are today). It was in those days that I was learning a tonne from veteran posters like Shoeless, Dobber, Thieving Giraffe and Mister McGoo (who I accidently called Mister Magoo more than a few times). It didn't take long for the student to become the teacher (literally) and the process along the way has been extremely rewarding. There is no better forum on the internet to find a friendlier group of hockey enthusiasts to share your lifetime passion with. In case you are wondering, I have been extremely successful in my keeper league finishing second and sixth in our first two years and winning our league in the past three years (20-team league). Thanks again as DobberHockey has provided me with the opportunity to stay competitive and filling that void left by not being able to play those true meaningful hockey games anymore.
If you are a 'newbie' to DobberHockey and are reading this I strongly encourage you to interact among the forum's members and ask those questions that you might feel are silly or even embarrassing. Let me reiterate, the DobberHockey community enjoys answering even the simplest of questions. Hell, those questions are sometimes extremely refreshing for some of us with over nine-thousand posts. Don't get overwhelmed as fantasy hockey is a process that can be learned over time - not overnight. Learn from your mistakes and realize that everyone makes them.
"Dean Youngblood" has come a long way since those beginning posts back in September of 2008. As mentioned above, 9300+ posts are simply the reflection of this great forum and all that it exemplifies. The forum has grown drastically from my post (I wish I could find the exact topic) back on September 17th of 2008. The website is the best fantasy hockey resource on the web. Period. The forum is embraced by the classiest and most passionate hockey fans on earth looking to promote the best sport ever played. For those still reading, please consider this simplified story of my hockey journey as a testament to the hard work that everyone involved at DobberHockey strives to do. In my three years here at DH, I haven't forwarded too much praise so let me take this opportunity to send a special thanks to Darryl and Jeff who have spent countless hours making DH what it is today. Please make sure both of you are in attendance when my wife throws me my own DobberHockey intervention to correct this addiction I have.
Sincerely,
A True Hockey Fan
Last edited by Dean Youngblood; July 23, 2011 at 1:13 AM.
Nice! you'd probably get run over by a beer truck if you posted something like this on other FH sites - so there is that about this place too.
Thanks for taking the time to do this - wish there was more of this here actually.
Last edited by Shoeless; July 23, 2011 at 1:45 AM.
Wow, that was fantastic. A pleasure to read.
"We've had a couple shakers in this place. This year we haven't had the time. We had a couple good ones last year, right?" - Phil Kessel
Brendan.
Awesome stuff man. Great to pay thanks to Dobber and company. Also alot of folks here owe you a big thanks as well. You've helped a ton of guys here I'm sure of it and most definitely have helped me. You're a class act.
No doubt man.Originally Posted by Shakedown
Great read Rossy, needless to say you've been as big a help to me just as those vet posters were to you.
Cheers bud.
Goalies: If I'm pickin em you best be sittin em!
Love these feel good stories. Glad to post side-by-side with you throughout the years. Learned lots from just interacting with you.
Yup, dig it.
...and you are a big part of it.
Keep up the great work DY!
Great stuff Dean.
I love you too
Should've saved that for your 10,000th post! :P
Jokes aside, Brendan "DY" Ross, that is a great story.
Now let's go enjoy some Entourage!
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